Growing Up is Getting Old!

I’ll try to catch up a little while Sue is out doing counseling. These past few days have been filled with holiday services and activities, and plenty of chocolate!

I was invited to speak this past Thursday afternoon at Kimetais - a factory that produces kitchen and bathroom fixtures - owned by Elizeu, a man involved in our small group. I had spoken several months ago to his salesmen. This time I was invited to give a brief talk for the entire company before they left for the long weekend, explaining real meaning of Easter. What a great opportunity to share the Gospel! Everyone was very attentive and seemed appreciative. I, along with all the employees, got a delicious panetone filled with chocolate.

Saturday night is youth night at church. We are back to regular meetings after split sessions during March on the subject of sexual purity. Each week during that month, after I did the general Bible study, Sue and Andrea taught the girls and Dave was with the guys. It was an excellent study in an area that most churches don’t even want to touch. The teens are now reading/studying through the book of Romans during the next few weeks.
Friday evening was a Good Friday service. We had never done this before, and though there was some confusion during the program, it was a nice service, and a good group out. That afternoon, it started to rain, and the rain didn’t stop until Sunday afternoon.
After three days of rain, it was decided to have the Sunday sunrise service at church instead of the botanical gardens as the ground was really soggy and people would come away with wet bottoms from the seating. It was still a nice service, with a good group out again.

Everyone enjoyed the breakfast following. The kids all got small chocolate eggs with a prize inside as a gift. There was one chocolate egg left over, and I managed to snag that!

Now, you’ve got to see the size of the chocolate eggs here in Brazil at Easter time – most are quarter pound-ers, but they’re available up to two to five pounds. When folks saw me with the little egg, they called me “meninão” (the big little boy). Of course it’s not the first time I’ve been called that, but when it comes to chocolate eggs, I don’t really want to grow up!

Monday night was our small group, which is becoming quite a big group. We could have had twenty-one people out for it, but only seventeen showed. One of our old – maybe “former” is better word – young people showed up as well who has been living in Germany the past five years. It was fun catching up with him.

Elizeu (I spoke at his plant the previous Thursday) and his family were at small group, and we learned that they’d been robbed in their home at gunpoint on Saturday night! The robbery was organized as the thieves knew who he was and that his wife was a dentist. When they didn’t get all the money they wanted, they first threatened to kill him, and then switched tactics threatening to kidnap their young son and only releasing him for an exorbitant ransom. After holding the family for over an hour and a half, the robbers finally left with as much jewelry, silver, art, TVs, sound equipment, computers and money they could get into his Audi (taking his car as well). Thankfully, they didn’t kidnap the son and no one in the family was harmed. We were used to hearing stories like this in São Paulo, but not in Bauru.

My wife is home. Time to end this.